That Smile
by ShannyRawr
Summary: When Lucy's father is at it again, who's there to cheer her up? None other than our favorite exhibitionist! Oneshot. The more deeper feelings are implied. May create a series of GraLu oneshots, but at the moment, complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo my fellow authors and readers. ShannyRawr here~ So I was reading through my old fanfics and even though I'm a full NaLu supporter, this was pretty cute. I wrote this way long ago after I watched the episode that's mentioned in here (Lucy's family company going kabloom and such). It's more just an implied romance than anything else, but it probably provides at least one or two squeals for all those GraLu followers! To be honest, I don't mind GraLu at all. It still gets me all excited. But, if I had to choose a favorite, that's where NaLu comes ahead of it. And of course, that's more likely (obviously) going to happen. ANYWHO. Enjoy~**

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Lucy ran down the street, ignoring the swelling tears that blurred her vision and dampened her skin. It hurt too much. The pain was much more than she would have expected; not that she had expected this anyway.

It was like him, wasn't it? To find her and demand for money; even after everything he had done to her. How did he have the nerve to do that? It didn't make any sense! People don't do that to each other!

She thought that maybe her father had changed; maybe he was actually here because he had missed her and he felt he was wrong. When he had removed his hood she was too shocked to say anything; but feelings had been sweltering inside her. Anger, of course; was it possible not to be angry? But a tiny bit of hope had somewhat peeked amidst the harsh emotions in her heart.

He had said that he didn't have any fortune; that he had seen what he had done to her was wrong. He had apologized and told her he just wanted to see his daughter's face; he wanted to see how his daughter was doing. Why did she believe him? Even just for a second?

When she asked why he was there again, he demanded that she hand over 100,000 jewel. Who had that kind of money, anyway? Certainly none of her friends; none of her new family. Maybe she could have dealt with it if he had just left; but he didn't. His eyes darkened and he appeared the same way he had as a child. It scared her so much.

And it hurt her so much. It hurt to send him away; to stand up for herself a second time. It hurt that she had let herself believe him at all. It hurt that he had come all that way to in no way repent for his actions. Did he intend to make the gap between them even larger?

Lucy was panting in front of her house after what felt like hours of running away from him. She fumbled for her house key, unable to make out anything through her tears. Suddenly, she froze. What if Natsu was in there?

Slowly, her hand covered her face and she took in a deep breath. With gentle glides she wiped away the tears and blinked until her eyes were white again for sure. Only then did she turn the key in the lock and open the door.

There were no sounds at first. It was kind of a relief, but another part of her yearned for her friends. She closed the door softly behind her and walked into the living room.

"Hey, Lucy," a low voice said casually. Her eyes, which were blankly staring at the floor, took a quick peek over at Gray. He was in just his boxer shorts; this didn't surprise her anymore. It normally made her angry, but she didn't have any fight in her. Having no response, he stood up and took a step towards her. "What's up?"

She couldn't bring herself to speak. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her entire body was shuddering slightly; one of her eyebrows twitched. It was nearly too much to keep everything in. She wanted Gray to leave before she broke, but instead, his cool arms wrapped around her and she let her head lie comfortably on his shoulder.

Her eyes began to water again and she found herself clinging to him tightly. This only made his grip around her more firm. She felt the dam break and sobs began wracking her body. A little bit of guilt stained the back of her mind at dampening Gray's shoulder. But it seemed that he felt no discontentment of her crying; only the stiffening of his back.

"Lucy," he said calmly and pulled away to look down at her. "The only people who deserve your tears are the ones who don't make you cry." Her lips curved upwards slightly in a small smile. He had a way of knowing exactly what she needed to make her feel better. One of his hands tilted her chin up gently and she watched him quizzically; his expression was rock hard.

"G-Gray," she whimpered but he shook his head slightly.

"Raise your chin; like you normally do. Confidence suits you much better." He smiled. She had to resist the urge to gape at him. It was only on a rare occasion that she caught the ice mage smiling earnestly at someone or something. But it seemed so genuine she found herself smiling brightly back at him. "That's more like it."

"This isn't necessary; you aren't responsible for this," she said softly and gazed at him. His chuckle was almost inaudible and he closed his eyes, tilting his head down towards the floor. Her eyes tracked him until he looked back at her.

"How long is it going to take you to realize that your friends want to make you feel better when you're down? You always do that for us, Luce. I mean, where would we – I – be without you? So it's only being unfair if you didn't let us help you when you need it; and that's hardly ever." He pulled her back into his embrace and she smiled even wider into his neck. "And I like your smile." This made her blush.

Suddenly a wave of happiness took over and she pulled away, glaring at him like she normally did when this happened, "Gray, your clothes." He just shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not completely sure I wore them over here." She laughed slightly but found herself just smiling at him. She was incredibly lucky to have him; not everyone got a Gray in their lifetime. He noticed and shot a questioning glance back.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking down at her feet. He shrugged and she could see how he was trying to cover up his flustered cheeks.

"It's really not a problem. Because you know what?" he said and smiled again slightly. "I would gladly do anything for you."

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**Yup, there ya go! Cute, ne? Whale, reviews are much appreciated, though this was more for fun than for anything serious. I'd still be nice to know someone enjoyed it. Maybe if I'm feeling up to it later I can add something. Or make this a series of GraLu oneshots! Woah, ideas. Okay have a nice day/night/morning/evening/noon.**

**Love you mean it,**

**ShannyRawr**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yo. ShannyRawr reporting for duty. So, I told a few people I would write another chapter or something and I finally did! Now, I kinda winged it and I was distracted while writing it, so the story goes ****_all_**** over the place - not even an exaggeration. But, it makes it an obvious romantic relationship so... yay! I think I'll change rating to T... *winkwink* So enjoy and stuff. **

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It was Lucy's turn to blush. "Gray," she said quietly as her eyes focused on his neck, "What's that?" Taking a step towards him, she placed a tentative hand on his shoulder and traced her fingers up to a fresh scar. He winced, but didn't move away.

"Just a scar."

Lucy sneered at him, "Thanks for clearing that up. How did you get this?" She slowly moved her hand to the back of his neck, the tips of her fingers running through his raven locks, and took another step closer. Gray tensed, but still remained. When he didn't answer and simply stared at her with slightly sorrowful and slightly unreadable eyes, she whispered, "Was it me? Did you get this protecting me?" A subtle nod.

At hearing this, Lucy closed her eyes and put pressure on Gray's neck, forcing him to lean towards her. She met him halfway and touched her forehead against his softly. Taking in a deep breath, Gray lifted his hand and rested it on her cheek, "Don't start feeling guilty. That was a decision I made and will never regret."

She laughed thickly, "Do you ever _not_ know what to say?" Suddenly, she pulled away and disappeared in the bathroom, leaving a confused Gray in her wake. Seconds later she returned with a damp cloth and bandages. "Sit down."

After arguing that he didn't need it for a moment, he complied and slouched back into his original position on the couch. Lucy followed and sat on the edge of the cushion, scooting towards him. Gray visibly swallowed when the cold fabric touched the new scar on his neck. She gently brushed it against the wound as her eyes examined the rest of his torso. Spotting another cut – not quite a scar – she moved the cloth down to it, sliding her hand down his pecks and hovering around a spot on his abs.

The bandages appeared in her other hand and Lucy put down the cloth, absently leaving it on the armrest. She took a small piece and smoothed it out over the scar on Gray's neck. Her fingers then ventured down their previous trail until touching the other cut. More small pieces of bandages and soon the ice make mage was treated.

Another swallow, "Uh, thanks." Lucy smiled sweetly at him. Behind that smile she was wondering why he was so tense and so uncomfortable with her. What was she doing wrong? All she did was try to help him by treating his scars. Then it struck her. She had been touching him. Her bare skin touching his; he probably felt very weird about the whole thing. After realizing and assuming this was the case, she grabbed the damp cloth and the bandages and quickly brought them back to the bathroom.

"Calm down Lucy, why is your heart racing so fast? Why is your face heating up?" she muttered to herself, leaning against the sink and staring at her flustered reflection. The blood pulsing through her was echoed in her ears, harmonizing with the rapid beating of her heart. Taking in a deep breath, she walked back to the room Gray was in and made to sit back down next to him.

Remembering the previous discovery, it only took moments to forget, she took a sharp curve and sat down opposite him on a chair. Unfortunately, he seemed to have noticed her jerky movement and eyed the blond suspiciously. He didn't say anything, though, when she shot him a nervous grin. "So," he began, "are you sick?" Lucy thought she was safe too soon.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, your face is all red. Or are you blushing?" His smirk at least relieved any serious mood. However, she only blushed more and scowled at him.

Lucy swallowed this time, "Why would I be blushing? I do feel kind of hot, though."

Gray's smirk vanished, but his playful attitude was still noticeable. Before she could find an excuse to get up, he was kneeling in front of her and stretching out a hand towards her face. Brown eyes squeezed shut when she could feel his fingers hovering above her skin and then flinched when the cool sensation flooded her system. His hand was gently placed on her forehead, not too cold and not too warm.

Slowly, Lucy opened her eyes to find his own onyx orbs gazing patiently at her. Their gazes immediately locked and the celestial spirit mage found she could not part from it. So they both just stared at each other; and it was somehow satisfying. Ever-so-slowly, Gray's hand had begun sliding down her face and was now cooling her cheek. Subconsciously she mumbled his name and he replied with his thumb stroking her smooth skin. His hand began its travels again, trailing down her neck, to her shoulder, all the way down her arm, and finally halting once it covered Lucy's hand. She twisted her own so as to be able to grip Gray's.

"Gray," she said consciously this time, "what are you doing?" Another blush had reddened her cheeks, earning a return of the smirk from said ice make mage. He gave her hand a light squeeze.

"I could ask you the same question," he laughed and leaned towards her more. She stared at him, then at their hands, then back at him. "Did you not even realize you were doing it?" Slowly, she shook her head. What was her subconscious trying to tell her? Whilst wondering this question, the blond never bothered taking her hand away; in fact, she even held on tighter at some points. Gray just watched her thoughtful expression change as she came up with different scenarios and/or answers.

Suddenly, her eyes widened – there was no doubt about it. She had found the answer to her question. What was still undiscovered was whether or not it was a good thing. The next thing she came up with was a good test to this theory. A deviously innocent smile crossed her lips, "I know what I'm doing now."

"Huh?" Gray was frozen as his favorite celestial mage slid out of the seat and knelt at his level, ominously close to him. Her half-lidded chocolate eyes mocked him in a way that tugged at his heart as she leaned closer and closer until her breath warmed his jaw. He tensed, again, but couldn't bring himself to back away. "Lucy, I don't get it –," "There's nothing to get. Just… hm, I know! Just follow your heart."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Instead of answering his question, she pressed her lips against his skin. Gray blushed furiously and his heart skipped at least two beats. The blond put the hand he wasn't squeezing the life out of on his shoulder and began moving her lips towards his. When they reached the corner of his mouth, she stopped. Neither of them moved. Then, she backed away, bangs covering a grim expression, and simultaneously removed her hand from his shoulder, slipping the other out of his tempting grip.

_Just follow your heart. _As Lucy stood up, Gray's mind replayed this sentence insistently until his hand, moving of its own accord, grasped her slim wrist and pulled her back down on top of him. "Kyaa!" she squealed, landing straddled on his lap. Before she could protest, the ice mage's lips were covering her own. Lucy settled into his embrace – one arm encircled her waist and the remaining hand lay gently on her cheek – and the kiss. After feeling her resolve, Gray ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for access that was easily granted. And so the battle for dominance began.

The air around them cooled down as the ice mage's interest and, well – hormones – sparked. Lucy loosely wrapped her arms around his neck and they both tumbled backwards, not halting in their "activity". When the blond finally parted her lips from Gray's, cold air filled her lungs and she hadn't realized until that point how desperately she needed to breathe.

With flushed faces, the two Fairy Tail mages stared at each other. Lucy giggled first. Then Gray chuckled. And somehow they both ended up crying of laughter. When they had calmed down, Lucy grinned at him, "Can you believe how much just happened leading up to that? How long has it been – an hour?"

"More like five minutes." She giggled again, but ended up just smiling a sincerely loving smile. Gray blushed harder and then returned it. "Man, you don't even know how much I care about you, Luce. I love you."

Brown eyes widened. Lips parted. Cheeks flushed bright red. "I love you, Gray." She had completely forgotten what had driven her into Gray's arms in the first place.

It was the first time both mages had been truly happy in what had felt like forever. Two hearts knew the real desire from the very beginning.

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**Tada! Hope you liked it. I apologize - again? Did I already apologize? - for the randomness and what not. GraLu~ and stuff. Reviews, yes no maybe so. **

**Love you mean it,**

**ShannyRawr**


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